Miami holds off Atlanta without Jimmy Butler to clinch series win
VICTOR Oladipo scored 23 points and Bam Adebayo posted 20 points and made a key defensive play as the Miami Heat held off the visiting Atlanta Hawks for a series-clinching 97-94 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference’s first round on Tuesday night.
The Hawks had a couple of chances to pull even in the final 30 seconds, but a missed shot came before a game-ending steal by Adebayo.
Miami will be off until opening the conference semifinals on Monday night against Philadelphia or Toronto.
Max Strus scored 10 points during Miami’s 17-0 run late in the second quarter that allowed the Heat to build a 54-42 half time lead.
Tyler Herro poured in 16 points off the Miami bench and Strus finished with 15 points. The Heat played without All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler (knee injury) and, for the second game in a row, point guard Kyle Lowry (hamstring).
Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter scored 35 points, including 11 in the last five minutes. Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari both had 12 points for the Hawks, who were unable to repeat last year’s postseason success when they reached the conference finals.
Atlanta star guard Trae Young was held to 11 points, scoring just three points — all on free throws — in the fourth quarter. He was 2-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-5 on 3-pointers, and was charged with six turnovers.
Miami’s big burst came in the final minutes of the first half after the Hawks led for the first eight minutes of the second quarter. But Atlanta didn’t have a field goal in the last 4-1/2 minutes of the half, with Hunter’s two free throws with 3.2 seconds before half time halting Miami’s scoring run.
The Hawks recovered enough to close within 79-76 with 8:14 remaining on Onyeka Okongwu’s three-point play. Oladipo posted seven of Miami’s next 13 points as the spread reached 92-82 before Atlanta’s final push.
Adebayo and Hunter each led their teams with 11 rebounds.
This was the closest outcome of Miami’s four wins in the series; the three others came by at least 10 points.
GRIZZLIES 111, TIMBERWOLVES 109Ja Morant scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, including a tie-breaking layup in the final second, and host Memphis took a 3-2 lead in its first-round Western Conference playoff series against Minnesota.
Morant’s driving basket under duress as time expired capped a whirlwind final 2:01 in which the 2021-22 National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Improved Player scored the Grizzlies’ final 11 points. Morant also contributed 13 rebounds, nine assists and three steals while teammate Desmond Bane scored 25 points and blocked three shots.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with team highs of 28 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which will try to stave off elimination on Friday in Minneapolis.
SUNS 112, PELICANS 97Mikal Bridges scored 31 points and Chris Paul added 22 points and 11 assists as the host Phoenix defeated New Orleans to take a 3-2 lead in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Deandre Ayton scored 19 points for the top-seeded Suns, who can end the series with a victory in New Orleans on Thursday. Phoenix hit 10 of 27 from beyond the arc compared to 5 of 25 for the Pelicans.
Brandon Ingram scored 22 points, CJ McCollum had 21, Jonas Valančiūnas had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Jose Alvarado scored 12 to lead New Orleans. — Reuters
